Dole owner pledges $10 million for new Westlake Village YMCA

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A rendering of the Southeast Ventura County YMCA and Westlake Village Community Park project.

Dole Food Co. owner David H. Murdock is pledging $10 million so that construction can begin on a new YMCA facility at Westlake Village Community Park.

Building the 50,000-square-foot Triunfo YMCA will cost $20 million. It will have an aquatics center, a gymnasium, a fitness center and multipurpose spaces.

Rick Politte, president and CEO of the Southeast Ventura County YMCA, said Murdock's donation will allow it to move forward with the foundation and steel framework for the building once the Westlake Village City Council signs off on the final design.

"Mr. Murdock has agreed to lead the fundraising, and he's doing it by his actions. We believe it will inspire others to give," Politte said.

For more than a decade, Westlake Village and the Southeastern Ventura County YMCA have envisioned the development of a community park on the north side of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, west of Lindero Canyon Road. The YMCA is proposed for 5 acres of the 18-acre site.

Westlake Village has spent $15 million grading the pad and installing utilities and basic landscaping.

Work on a parking lot began this month. The city anticipates the first phase of construction will begin in late spring. It will create two fields for baseball and softball, an overlay soccer field using synthetic turf, a restroom, a tot lot and a walking and jogging trail.

Murdock, a billionaire who built Sherwood Country Club and the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, became involved in the park project in 2011 after visiting the site at the invitation of Councilwoman Sue McSweeney, the mayor at the time.

Murdock and his architect, Arnold Savraan, worked on the design for the YMCA, with Dole and Murdock splitting the $2 million design costs.

Savraan died in late November and will be remembered at a memorial Thursday afternoon at the Four Seasons hotel he designed for Murdock.

McSweeney said the death of his colleague and friend of 40 years played a part in Murdock's decision.

"He's very excited to bring his last project to life and make sure Arnold's work will get to be realized," McSweeney said Wednesday."I'm really glad it's going to get done, and it's going to be wonderful."

The new Triunfo YMCA will also house the Dole Nutrition Education Center, where people can learn about good nutrition and buy healthful foods.

"This project will increase opportunities for our community to be physically active and improve fitness and overall well-being, a cause I've been committed to for over 30 years," Murdock said in a statement released Wednesday.

Politte said that former Westlake Village Mayor Doug Yarrow and his wife, Penny, pledged $1 million for the project early on and that the YMCA has raised an additional $2.5 million.

The goal now is to raise an additional $10 million.

The Triunfo YMCA runs childhood centers at Willow, Yerba Buena and Sumac schools in Agoura Hills and at White Oak School in Westlake Village.

Executive Director Ronnie Stone said the new facility will let the YMCA serve more people, offer more programs and create a great community place.

Murdock's donation will show people it is really happening, Stone said.

"He does not want this to be a Murdock YMCA. He wants it to be a community project and for the community to help support and fund it," Stone said. "He's stepped up to take the lead, and we hope everyone jumps onboard."